


War with His Heart

by bearinapotatosack



Series: TrekTober2020 [5]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Emotionally Hurt Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Sad Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27311824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearinapotatosack/pseuds/bearinapotatosack
Summary: The crew are on the Night Shift, Pavel is bored and Leonard is sorrowful~~TrekTober2020- Day 31- Night Shift
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Spock, Joanna McCoy & Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Pavel Chekov & Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Series: TrekTober2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947193
Kudos: 23
Collections: Trektober 2020





	War with His Heart

Chekov sighed and marked off another star on the map on his desk, taking a sip of water from his flask in an attempt to wake himself up. He looked around at his fellow crew, Sulu's blinks were slow and heavy, the Captain's gaze had fallen, almost naturally, onto Mr. Spock, Uhura was taking time to translate scripts into various languages for Starfleet officials, Spock was editing the reports from his science officers, taking the occasional moment to turn and flutter his full eyelashes back at Jim.

  
He sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He hated night shifts. The only reason they were doing this was that, after a ship-wide survey, it turned out that the people on Gamma shifts constantly didn't prefer them. So, to keep his crew pleased, Jim made everyone switch shifts. Every week. It was the third week of this new schedule. And Pavel was immensely fatigued.

  
"Captain, I need to fill up my vater, and go for a valk," Pavel started.

  
No response, Captain Kirk was fully zoned out, staring at the posterior of his recently acquired boyfriend.

  
"Captain, Captain!"

  
Jim turned his head stiffly, blinking a few times before he realised who had called him. "Mr. Chekov, how can I help?"

  
"I asked if I could go for a valk?" 

  
"Oh, yes, of course, I'll take your place," He said and waved him off as he walked into the turbo lift.

* * *

He was ten minutes into his walk, his Starfleet issue canteen now full and a tune in his head to whistle. The corridors were mostly empty with only the serene hums of the ship to accompany him. And the occasional couple making good use of the abandoned corridors. 

  
Despite the welcomed break, he was disappointed by the little progress he’d made on the walk. His eyes were still heavy, his body was made of lead as he stopped in his tracks at a strange scene in the early hours of the morning. 

  
A Roomba Race.

  
Ten security ensigns, as well as various others from the other departments, stood around a twisting course, as four Roombas, decorated with stickers, bumped into the markers. None seemed to notice for a second until one of the robots smacked into his ankle.

  
The cheering that had shocked him slightly, but the sudden silence shocked him more. All their eyes focused on him, making him shift uncomfortably.

  
“You’re not going to report this, are you?” One of them said.

  
"Erm, no?"

  
"Okay then!" Another exclaimed as the cheering started up again.

  
The lights lowered as he walked through the empty corridors, the echoes of the race behind him. Everything seemed to dim slightly as he reached what he realised was the observation deck. A few rooms were closed off, some larger for parties and some minuscule as if they were programmed to only allow one person in.

  
Also on this deck were the no gravity training rooms, which were more commonly used for a fun form of relaxation. None of them were in use now, the monitor beside him read, but one observation room was.

  
Curious, Pavel continued. Whoever had booked a room hadn't left their name, just the necessary Starfleet Code. 

  
The occupied room was on the far end of the corridor, its door open and harsh blue light of a PADD radiating from it. Shouting was also erupting from the room too, along with the occasion slam.

  
"Come on, you stupid hunk o' junk!" The person cried. "Work, goddammit, I thought that was what you were made to do!"

  
Pavel pondered if he should enter, but his feet had already taken him there before he could think of the answer. Little to his surprise, the angry person was Dr. McCoy. He stood up beside an all-white table, his PADD raised above his head as he prepared to slam it down in what would only end in tears. 

  
"Doctor! What are you doing?" Pavel yelled, snatching the PADD from his grasp and laying it down flat on the table. 

  
Leonard looked up, his eyes were electric with short-lasting rage, most likely the build-up of weeks of little inconsistencies. “The signal went.”

  
“And how is breaking the PADD going to get it back?”

He picked up the PADD and began to twiddle with it. Tapping into the settings, he watched as Leonard took a shuddering breath, like the wind at the end of a storm, or the beginning. His worn hands dragged through his hair, rubbing his face. Then repeating. Repeating until a flush appeared on his cheeks and forehead. 

  
They collapsed onto the bench together, insisting on averting their eyes. Pavel didn’t want to push, he knew how closed off the Doctor was. He also knew the uncomfortable shifting feeling in his stomach at the idea of talking about something that he specifically kept locked away. There were plenty of things he could list that he didn’t want to share. Not now, he might eventually.

  
“I was on my video call with my daughter, I only have one a month,” Leonard said. His voice was grumbly and low, muffled by the hand he’d put over his mouth.

  
His hair was now ruffled and loose, the grey hairs peeking through among the highlights and shadows being cast by the diluted light that surrounded them. The rage was gone. Soft brown cores exploding into green and oranges. Fatigue was swirled in there too. The kind of fatigue that can only evolve from the constant reminder that you fucked up or were fucked over. 

  
The Doctor smiled and removed the hand from his mouth. “Thanks for not saying anything, and I meant that, genuinely,” He shuffled along the bench and leaned over to look at what Pavel was doing. “As much as I appreciate Jim wanting to help, but he gives too much advice, wants to fix everything but, talking is one way to fix stuff, you know?” 

  
He nodded, a few beeps coming from the PADD as he got closer to solving the problem. 

  
“I always have to get up at stupid hours just to see my own daughter,”

  
“Hikaru does the same,” Pavel interjected.

  
“It’s not the same,” He shook his head and turned away. “He always has the knowledge that if we have extended shore leave, or when he goes home, or if he gets positioned on the ground, his family are gonna be there, that he has the option to see them whenever he's able,”

  
“I don’t have that,” He said, finding his hands interesting. “Jocelyn has to agree to me seeing Jo, and even then it’s only for a few hours, and I can’t take her off planet,”

  
Pavel placed the PADD down and placed his cold hand on the Doctor’s, sharing a look as he replied. “I don’t know how that feels, but that sounds horrible,”

  
Leonard nodded.

  
“I’ve got the signal back,” He said and smiled, handing back the PADD.

  
A buffering symbol appeared for a moment, then the dazzling face of the eleven-year-old. 

  
Joanna broke out into a smile, her afro bouncing on her head as she waved at her father. “Dad! You came back!” 

  
Leonard mirrored her smile and wave, crossing his legs as he fell back into the conversation. His face eased, the wrinkles smoothing and warmth replacing the sorrow deep in his eyes. Neither Pavel nor their friends had seen him so easy, so free. Or, he’d never let himself be seen this way. He stood up to leave, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome, when a hand grabbed onto his arm. 

  
“Thanks,” Leonard said.

  
Pavel nodded and left the room, returning to the bridge, where Jim didn’t ask where he went. The room was just as heavy and filled with boredom as when he left. The Captain settled reluctantly in his chair, Sulu gave him a smile and everyone heaved, going back to begging the shift to be over sooner.

**Author's Note:**

> • This takes place in 2262  
> • I may or may not start to write a lot of one shots and multiple chapter fics, I had the idea to write a large multiple chapter fic where the crew watched each other's pasts but I'm now conflicted. 
> 
> Please tell me, would you rather read a collection of fics where you see the characters' pasts as they happen and others of them telling the others about their pasts  
> OR  
> One big fic where the crew see and experience each others' pasts?
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this, leave a kudos and a comment if you did!


End file.
